1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable corrals and enclosures for holding animals. More specifically, the present invention relates to a portable enclosure which may be mounted to and transported on a vehicle for use in temporarily confining animals.
2. The Relevant Art
Livestock, such as horses, are often transported to various locations such as camping spots, rodeos, and horse shows in a trailer. The animals often remain at the locations for long periods of time, even over night or over several nights during that period of time. It is not practical to keep the animals in the trailer, and it often becomes necessary to find a suitable place to corral the animals. In many locations it is difficult to find available corral space for the animals being transported, and the cost of renting a corral, stall, or other enclosure to house the animal may likewise be prohibitive. It may also be necessary to allow the animal being transported time to rest and eat during long trips. Portable corrals that attach to livestock trailers have been used in an attempt to solve these problems.
Existing portable corrals nevertheless pose certain problems for those who use them. For instance, many are extremely heavy and awkward, making if difficult for those of smaller stature, such as women, to maneuver them into desired configurations. Additionally, existing portable corrals are generally designed to be stacked in or on the side of the livestock trailer and generally project significantly off the side of the trailer. This makes it difficult to secure the corrals and may create a danger to other vehicles. Also, existing portable corrals are designed to be configured and attached to a trailer in a limited ways and do not allow for flexibility of design and configuration of the resulting enclosure.
From the above discussion, it can be seen that it would be beneficial to improve the current state of portable animal enclosures by making the enclosures easier to deploy and to retract for storage, and by providing a portable enclosure that may be stored on a vehicle such as a trailer without creating a significant projection off the side of the trailer. It would be further beneficial to provide such a portable enclosure that is modular and configurable to meet a user""s particular needs.
The vehicle-mounted animal enclosure of the present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available vehicle-mounted animal enclosures. Accordingly, it is an overall object of the present invention to provide a vehicle-mounted animal enclosure that overcomes many or all of the above-discussed shortcomings in the art.
To achieve the foregoing object, and in accordance with the invention as embodied and broadly described herein in the preferred embodiment, an improved vehicle carried animal enclosure is provided and in one embodiment comprises a portable enclosure or corral that may be mounted on a livestock trailer. The enclosure comprises a plurality of panels that extend from the trailer in a telescoping fashion to form an enclosure for temporality housing animals.
The panels may comprise vertical and horizontal support members coupled to each other with sleeves. The panels are preferably constructed to telescope or nest within one another when in a folded storage position. In one embodiment, a distal panel nests inside a proximal panel that is mounted to the trailer. In a further embodiment, the distal panel telescopically retracts partially into the proximal panel. Two such groups of panels are preferably separately mounted to a vehicle. This allows for a large enclosed area attached to the trailer, while the panels when stored protrude only slightly from the vehicle. The panels are preferably constructed of a lightweight material and pivot outward from the trailer with the majority of the weight of the panels being born by the trailer. The lightweight material of the panels also allows the panels to be configured into various deployed configurations with a minimum of effort.
Once the panels have been extended outward from the trailer they are preferably anchored to the ground through the use of retractable legs that may terminate in a base plate.
In one embodiment, the base plate of the retractable legs may then be staked to the ground, providing secure anchor points for the enclosure. In another embodiment, stakes of rolled steel are placed through the joints of the panels and then are driven into the ground to provide a secure anchor point for the enclosure.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.